WWhathat iitt mmeanseans ttoo be a bison ““...... thethe pursuitpursuit ofof aathleticsthletics iinn ccollegeollege nneedeed nnotot iinterferenterfere withwith a fellow’sfellow’s studies,studies, aandnd iiff youyou givegive a boyboy a wellwell developeddeveloped bbodyody hhisis bbrainrain willwill getget thethe benefitbenefit ofof iit.”t.” — CChristyhristy MathewsonMathewson inin hishis bookbook WWonon iinn tthehe NNinthinth, wwrittenritten iinn 11910910 TThehe termterm “student-athlete”“student-athlete” ssignifiignifi eses ssomethingomething extraordinaryextraordinary oonn tthehe ccampusampus ooff BBucknellucknell UUniversity.niversity. BBeingeing a BBisonison mmeanseans thatthat youyou havehave tthehe rarerare bblendlend ooff pphysicalhysical sskillskills aalonglong wwithith tthehe ddriverive andand passionpassion neededneeded toto ssucceeducceed atat tthehe hhighestighest llevelevel ooff collegiatecollegiate aathletics.thletics. BBeingeing a BBisonison aalsolso meansmeans thatthat yyouou aarere a sscholarcholar fi rrstst andand foremost.foremost. YYouou bbe-e- llieveieve thatthat vvaluesalues aassociatedssociated wwithith DDivisionivision I athletics,athletics, ssuchuch asas timetime management,management, lleadership,eadership, tteamworkeamwork andand gracegrace underunder ppressure,ressure, aarere bbutut a ppartart ooff a wwell-roundedell-rounded ccollegeollege eexperience.xperience. AAtt BBucknell,ucknell, oourur sstudents,tudents, ffacultyaculty aandnd sstafftaff pprideride themselvesthemselves asas nationalnational lleaderseaders iinn upholdingupholding thethe scholar-athletescholar-athlete iidealdeal tthathat bbalancesalances a cchallenginghallenging aacademiccademic pprogramrogram wwithith tthehe ddemandsemands ooff ssuccessfuluccessful DDivisionivision I athletics.athletics. BBeingeing a BisonBison mmeanseans 2015 Cosida Academic tthathat yyouou hhaveave pledgedpledged toto bebe a student-student- All-District Selection Joe Ogren aathletethlete iinn tthehe ppuresturest ssense.ense. IInn ddoingoing sso,o, yyouou willwill bebe rewardedrewarded fforor a llifetime.ifetime. CCapitalapital OOnene PPatriotatriot LLeagueeague PPatriotatriot LLeagueeague AAcademiccademic AAll-Americanll-American CCapitalapital OOnene CCapitalapital OOnene SScholar-Athletecholar-Athlete ooff YYearear AAwardward ofof LLeadershipeadership & HHonorableonorable MMentionention NNSCAASCAA SScholarcholar AAll-Americanll-American AAcademiccademic AAll-Districtll-District AAcademiccademic AAll-Districtll-District FFieldield AAthletethlete ooff YYearear 33xx NNCAACAA QQualiualifi eerr CCharacterharacter AAll-Americanll-American JJESSEESSE KKLUGLUG AAUDREYUDREY DOTSONDOTSON MMATTATT DDelMAUROelMAURO SSOPHIAOPHIA NNNADINADI JJOEOE SSTOLFITOLFI AAMANDAMANDA SEIFERTSEIFERT SSTEFANTEFAN ALEKSICALEKSIC BUCKNELL BISON ATHLETICS SETTING THE STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE Bucknell takes great pride in its commitment to excellence on and off the • Bucknell has earned 101 Patriot League championships in 25 years in playing fi elds. From Presidents’ Cups to Academic All-Americans to gradua- the league. In addition, Bucknell has had 129 conference players of the tion rates that are ranked annually in the national top-10, Bucknell is clearly year, 110 PL coaches of the year and a whopping 605 individual league at the head of the class when it comes to upholding the scholar-athlete ideal. champions from sports such as cross country, track & fi eld, swimming & diving, tennis and golf. • According to federal data released by the NCAA each fall, Bucknell’s student-athlete graduation rate annually ranks in the top 10 among all • 26 of Bucknell’s 27 varsity squads posted team GPAs of 3.0 or better in Division I institutions. Bucknell has led the nation in graduation rates the spring of 2015. three times and ranked second in the most recent survey in the fall of 2014. • Bucknell has captured the Patriot League Presidents’ Cup, signifying the league’s all-sports champion, 18 times in the 25-year history of the • All 27 Bison varsity teams easily met the NCAA’s Academic Performance affi liation, including 14 of the last 18 years. Rate (APR) standards once again last year. In fact, 19 programs boast perfect scores in the four-year rolling average. Bucknell received 19 • Bucknell ranks FIFTH in the nation (to Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) National Recognition Awards, the State and Stanford) in total number of Capital One Academic All-Amer- second-highest total among all Division I institutions. ica selections with 128. • Bucknell has claimed a league-high 139 Patriot League Scholar-Ath- • A major element in ensuring Bucknell’s commitment to athletics excel- letes of the Year since the league’s inception as an all-sports conference lence is the Kenneth G. Langone Athletics & Recreation Center, which in 1990-91. opened fully in 2003. One of the fi nest collegiate athletics facilities of its kind, the center includes the 4,000-seat Sojka Pavilion, the Olym- • A total of 441 Bison appeared on the Patriot League Academic Hon- pic class Kinney Natatorium, the Krebs Family Fitness Center and the or Roll in 2014-15 after recording a GPA of 3.2 or better during their Berger Family Weight Room. A Hall of Fame area, a display of Bucknell’s sport’s competition season. Among all BU student-athletes, 312 made Medal of Honor recipients, an Academic All-America wall, a sports med- the Dean’s List with GPAs of 3.5 or better during the spring 2015 se- icine suite, modern offi ces for coaches and staff , and locker room and mester. classroom space are also included in the facility’s layout. • In addition to the 128 Capital One Academic All-Americans produced since 1970, Bucknell has also claimed 346 Academic All-District honor- ees over the same span, including fi ve in 2014-15. CCaptialaptial OOnene AAcademiccademic NNCAACAA QualiQualifi eerr PPatriotatriot LLeagueeague AAcademiccademic AAll-Patriotll-Patriot LLeagueeague AAll-Districtll-District CCSCAASCAA SScholarcholar AAll-Americanll-American NNWCAWCA AAll-Academicll-Academic TTeameam NNFHCAFHCA AAll-Regionll-Region UUSILASILA ScholarScholar All-AmericanAll-American AAll-Academicll-Academic TTeameam MMARIAARIA CCIOFFIIOFFI DDEREKEREK MMAURERAURER EEMMAMMA LEVENDOSKILEVENDOSKI PPAULAUL PETROVPETROV KKELSEYELSEY MMUCELLIUCELLI BBENEN KKELLARELLAR BBLAIRLAIR McDDONALDONALD PPatriotatriot LLeagueeague PPatriotatriot LLeagueeague PPatriotatriot LLeagueeague AAwardward ooff LLeadershipeadership & PPatriotatriot LLeagueeague IIndoorndoor PPlayerlayer ooff YYearear BBUU AAll-Timell-Time HHitsits LLeadereader SScholar-Athletecholar-Athlete ooff YYearear PPLL SScholar-Athletecholar-Athlete ooff YYearear CCharacterharacter NNSCAASCAA SScholarcholar AAll-Regionll-Region TTrackrack AAthletethlete ooff YYearear NNICKICK BBYBELYBEL CCYDNEEYDNEE SSANDERSANDERS SSAMAM GRINBERGGRINBERG KKATIEATIE JESSEEJESSEE RRYANYAN FFRAZIERRAZIER CCOURTNEYOURTNEY NNELSONELSON AANDREWNDREW GARCIA-GARRISONGARCIA-GARRISON BUCKNELL BISON ATHLETICS A NATIONAL MODEL IN PROMOTING THE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE IDEAL Bucknell Athletics is fi rst and foremost a student-centered organization, one that strives to be a national leader when it comes to operating by a true scholar-athlete model. At Bucknell, student-athletes’ academic programs are their fi rst priority, and providing a competitive Division I athletics program only advances the mission, values and residential learning goals of the university. To that end, the Department of Athletics and Recreation proactively seeks ways to assist student-athletes in their daily academic pursuits. Below are just some of the student-athlete support programs currently in place. BUCKNELL BISON LEADERSHIP ACADEMY: In 2011-12, the Department of Athletics launched the Bucknell Bison Leadership Academy. This program is designed to help student-athletes learn how to be eff ective leaders on and off the playing fi elds. The Leadership Academy features programming and instruction that bridge theory, development and real experiences in an interactive learning environment. Through this endeavor, team leaders can enhance their impact on their teammates’ and their program’s performance immediately and for years to come. FACULTY ATHLETICS REPRESENTATIVE: The faculty athletics representative (FAR) is a member of the faculty or administrative staff who is designated to represent Buck- nell in its relationships with the NCAA and the Patriot League. Bucknell’s FAR is Mitch Chernin, Professor of Biology. The FAR can enhance the student-athlete experience by promoting a balance between academics, athletics and the social lives of student-athletes, which aff ords them opportunities to enjoy a full range of collegiate experiences. SIDELINE COACH PROGRAM: This program is a truly unique initiative in Division I college athletics, and it involves the invitation of a member of the faculty, administration, staff or community by one of Bucknell’s 27 varsity teams. The participant has the opportunity to discuss the overall program with the respective coaching staff , including practice preparation and strategy for the upcoming contest. The sideline coach attends a practice session and an actual intercollegiate competition, where he/she is intro- duced to the team and gains rarely seen insight into the relationships that exist between player-coach and player-player. The purpose of the Sideline Coaches Program is to foster a better understanding by the faculty and administration of the roles played by coaches and athletes in the university’s competitive